HR Terms in Plain English

Below are some common terms used when talking about HR
and compliance with Australian employment laws such as the Fair Work Act
2009.

Compliance (or
non-compliance)

This term describes whether a business is (or isn't)
meeting their obligations under the law.

A business that is giving their employees the correct
minimum entitlements is compliant with the Fair Work Act 2009. If a
business isn't giving their employees all the correct entitlements
they're non-compliant.

Instrument

Not to be confused with a guitar or piano - when we say
'instrument' (or 'industrial instrument'), we're taking about all
of the types of legal arrangements that can give an employee their
minimum entitlements. Instruments include:

awards (see below)

agreements

legislation.

Award

An 'award' is a type of instrument (see above). Awards
cover an occupation or industry and have the minimum terms and
conditions that apply to employees who are covered by them. This
can include:

Loading

A loading is an extra payment made on top of an employee's base
rate of pay.

Loadings generally come from an employee's award or agreement
and are expressed as a percentage. They are paid for different
reasons including:

being a casual employee

working early morning or late night shifts

taking annual leave.

Pro-rata

Pro-rata means proportionate. We usually use this term
when we're talking about part-time employee
entitlements.

For example, for leave entitlements, part-time employees
are entitled to the same things as full-time employees - but on a
pro-rata basis. This means that it's based on the number of hours
they work.

Example

Full-time employees get at least 4 weeks annual leave
every year. Part-time employees also get 4 weeks, but it's paid
based on the number of hours they work per week.

So if a part-time employee works 20 hours per week, they
accumulate 4 weeks after 12 months - which is 80 hours (4 x 20).
Full-time employees who work 38 hours per week get 152 hours (4 x
38).

Shutting down

Many businesses decide to close down over slow business periods,
such as between Christmas and New Year. This is called a shut down.
In some cases employers can require their employees to take leave
while the business is closed.